Earlier this week, a sister and co-laborer in the Lord brought me to a hill in a village just outside our city. Barely past sunset, the orangey-pinks and purples of the waning sunlight clung to the edges of the clouds, while a storm rolled in from behind us with flashes of lightning and quiet rumbles of thunder. For a few, beautiful moments, we stood atop a lookout tower and gazed into the deep green valleys around us, speckled with little houses and further out, apartment buildings. In my mind, I mulled over a thought that had come to me, not for the first time, as we wound our way through the village to reach this spot:
There are so many people on this planet; people with children, parents, grandparents, family histories, family homes, family heirlooms, family traditions. – So many individuals, with hopes, dreams, obligations, traumas, questions, unique personalities. Some, who stay in one little corner of the world, only knowing the day-to-day of village life, and their own familiar cultural traditions. Whose roots run deep and impact is marked among their community. Some, who let the wanderer in them loose and follow their feet to the farthest reaches of the world, immersing themselves in new and unfamiliar traditions and cultures, leaving little traces of themselves behind as they go. And there are many of us who cross the two somewhere in between.
Every time I let my mind wander over the expanse and diversity of humanity, the truth that most astounds me is that God created each and every one of these individuals and knows their lives intimately. Whether or not we acknowledge him, he desires a relationship with us. All people are his creations. And as creations of the Living God, each of us have inherent value, purpose and hope. We’re all invited to belong to his family. His heritage. His spiritual, holy culture.
I’ve been meditating on the book of Ephesians for a few months now, and one enormous concept in this passage of Scripture is the importance of unity in the family of God. Paul (the Holy Spirit-inspired author of this text) exposed the reality that people naturally create divisions among themselves and chase after things that at first appear desirable, but ultimately destroy. We do this, instead of creating unity and beauty as God designed, because we are broken by sin.
When God designed family, he made it to reflect himself. He instituted the concept of work as a way for humanity to worship him and reflect his craftsmanship and creativity on the earth using our own hands. When humanity broke God’s perfect design, he himself came to begin the restoration of all things, to reunite us with himself in righteousness through the death of Jesus Christ. When humanity embraces God’s rescue, we are forever adopted into a new family: the family of God.
Until the complete restoration of all things when Christ returns, even those who are adopted into the new family will struggle against the temptation to continue in brokenness. In response to this struggle, the family of God is taught to put away the divisive, destructive things we have desired to take part in and to replace them with things such as:
Humility
Gentleness
Patience
Love
Eagerness to be unified in God’s Spirit
Peace
Christ gave us each gifts- abilities to accomplish a specific purpose within this unified family. Paul reveals that when we live as God has called us to live, our gifts will build up the family of Christ in love. This call to unity is for every believer, everywhere. Every person who has confessed Christ as Savior and Lord should be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving. We should make the best use of the time we have, encouraging one another and worshiping God with thanksgiving.
Ephesians also reveals that we experience the repercussions of living in the throes of a powerful war… but this war isn’t against humanity. It is a war against a deceitful, evil force of wickedness that will do anything to take us down and mar God’s beautiful design. So, we must be alert and prepared to stand together as a team, not against each other. To battle for the eternal life of those in the spiritual “battlefield” around us. To fight for the glory of God to be displayed on earth.
All these thoughts come together in my head, causing me to envision and long for a world where every person who believes in God also lives out their purpose to build up the family of God in love. I imagine the effect it would have if we were all eager to maintain unity instead of insisting on our own preferences. I imagine how communities would change if we were thoughtful to the needs of others even above our own needs. I imagine the joy we’d experience as we welcomed others to share in the blessing of the family of Christ, being adopted as children of God, walking in hope. I imagine the honor God would receive if we worked to create peace with those who oppose us, regardless of the personal consequences.
What beauty would spring up in the villages, towns, cities, states, countries – everywhere, all over the world, if the one, unified family of God were living as we are called to live. Bringing together cultures, personalities, strengths, weaknesses, similarities and differences in one accord to worship God. Each touching another’s life with encouragement and truth, passing it on to the next until all believers everywhere are connected as one family… which Jesus Christ compares to a bride. A beautiful, pure, joyful bride, waiting in expectation for the return of her bridegroom.
Lovely. Stunning. Like the character of the God we serve.
Of course, the brokenness would still surround us, tempt us, and threaten to undo us. But the family would be there to raise one another up, to comfort, to protect, to guide, to point one another to Christ. And the righteous beauty of God’s character, displayed in his beloved children, would be a glorious testimony throughout the earth.
Going back to those last few moments in the lookout tower, with stormy winds against my back, I looked toward the little part of the world the Lord has placed me in to build up his family and share the good news of the hope of Jesus Christ. And I knew a deep, worshipful thankfulness in my soul – thankfulness to God for adopting me into his family, for calling me and patiently teaching me to love those around me. I’m thankful to be a small, yet valued, part of God’s family sharing the hope of Christ on earth. Faithfully, simply, reaching out with hope to one precious, human creation at a time.
The family of God, when working together as God designed, gets to be a part of God’s miraculous, transforming work within every culture, family and human heart in the world. Let’s do what we’ve been created to do, and leave the world more unified than we found it.
Bethany